Horrible! Incredibly rude staff. I filed for fasfa 3 times and they lost the papers I submitted every time! Called to try to get it figured out and they told me they couldn't help me and I'd just have to pay the full amount! Do not recommend this place. read more

The faculty and staff are all on high-horses and are quite rude especially Professor Paslick and Ms. Lacny from the records office. This is a poor school that offers little to no help for their students especially ones there for summer semesters. read more

Worst experience and the staff is beyond rude. I will not be recommending this school to anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Waste of time and MONEY. One of the staff members at the front desk of counseling, had been drinking her cereal from a bowl for a few minutes before she greeted me. I spoke to someone else, also had an attitude with me, who directed me over to ANOTHER person. No one knows what they are doing here. Unless I am confusing the definition of respect and courtesy. read more

A great community college to start out at. Reasonably priced, fairly good education, and a nice campus. My favorite prof. there was Penelope Blake (Humanities) Take her if you get a chance--she can engage a class like no other for 2 hours straight. The only downfall is the school is pretty basic on classes. For language the only real offering is Spanish and once in a while there's a German class or French class tossed in--but not consistently and not every semester. They need more variety, which is why I give it 4 stars, otherwise it's a top-notch community college. read more

Okay I love Rock Valley College it's a place where they really care about the students. I can't stand the "Rock Bottom" nickname which is total BS. Go here for a Summer course or to get your AA - it's all good. Don't expect the Ritz, but just a good education at a community college. PS. Why are we review a community college on Yelp? read more

I have been thoroughly pleased with my education at RVC so far. The professors have been some of the nicest, most intelligent people I've met. The material is challenging but interesting, much of it is already helpful. The price is right, but don't be fooled--you're getting a great education here. Take the step and enroll today--you won't regret it. read more

Definitely a great place to start and if you pick the right teachers you will have an experience that betters many Universities. The price is so reasonable to get an education and honestly it shouldn't cost a million dollars to get educated. Don't listen to the "Rock Bottom" stereotype and get yourself some learning. read more

In terms of getting your academic career started, RVC is tough to beat in terms of cost effectiveness I've used the term Rock Bottom myself, but it is more out of endearment. This place is one of the few things that makes the Rockford Metro area really worth living in Pros -Very high transfer capability to most 4 year degrees / programs / schools, at a fraction of the cost -Their summer courses can really help you make up ground if you have a mis-step. 3 week courses are brutal, but if you can survive it, it is totally worth it -At the time of my attendance, RVC had a generous dropping policy that can salvage your GPA if you screw up when compared to traditional universities. These policies are subject to change, so make sure you look into it -Class sizes are small enough where instructors can do a little more one on one meetings. You typically won't get that in freshman, sophomore level universities Cons -You really should utilize guidance counselor services if you don't know what you're doing in terms of steering your academic career. You can waste considerable amounts of time and resources and not even realize it. In short, the student is an adult and there is no hand holding -There are bad instructors. There are bad instructors at any school. The best thing you can do is check online reviews of professors. RVC usually publishes instructors on their course guides, and in this day and age you can do a little pre-research. Today's technology is better than ever for that Bottom line: -Unless you have a killer scholarship or if you have a well defined program that must be followed, there really is little reason why you shouldn't start your college career at RVC. I've known tons of VERY SUCCESFUL people that started 4 year universities just to go back to RVC. Four year universities are OVERRATED. With RVC you get just as much quality, and +98% of the students that apply themselves won't regret it read more

Rock Valley really has so much potential but the college is in total chaos. The administration and faculty do not see eye to eye and this is problematic for the students, specifically, fall of 2016 and spring of 2017 semester. Recently, there has been strikes and elections making the atmosphere almost hostile. One case is how my physics class had a final and my teach not only didn't show up for it or WRITE THE TEST but he also didn't GRADE IT. There was a very large chance my grade would've gone up to an A. This would NEVER happen in a four year university. The administration DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE STUDENTS. We wrote a petition with well over 40 signatures to open physics two in the fall and we found out that administration didn't even pass the petition on. They waste our time and I am so glad to be going to an institution next year that will respect me as a paying student. AND counselors don't want to help you transfer. They want you to stay to keep your money. No help. read more

To be honest the only good thing about Rockvalley is the fact that there was that drunk guy that would try to like fight the geese. Theres a few good professors but tbh its a waste to go here. They try to make a two year associate take you 4 years read more

There is no reason at all anyone should pass-up on education. After my job cutting back I found myself here preparing for a new career and it has honestly been the best move I've made in years. Everyone is friendly and for some reason,each day you leave class you're excited to come back again to learn more. Thanks RVC! read more

Definitely worth the money! Great way to ease yourself back into education before heading to a university. I have recommended it to friends and family. read more

I have had some truly wonderful and intelligent professors at rock valley college while pursuing my prerequisite courses. However, once I entered the dental hygiene program everything went downhill. The program was so chaotic and disorganized. The instructors were extremely toxic. They would talk negatively about each other and students in public and were extremely unprofessional. Dr. Runne is by far the worst person I have ever met in my entire life. She treats students with zero respect and should not be in a teaching facility. The students that they pick on receive literal abuse by the staff. They bully and pick you apart any chance they get and there is absolutely no positive reinforcement whatsoever. There is extreme favoritism. By the time I was in my last semester I was so beaten down emotionally and mentally that I didn't even like dental hygiene anymore. The level of self worthlessness they make you feel will take years to overcome. No program is worth your sanity. I'm all for a challenge but I am not for being bullied and humiliated when I paid thousands upon thousands to be there. I was one of the top students in all of my classes. Anatomy and physiology, chemistry, microbiology, English, you name it. As soon as you get accepted into the program they remind you how disposable and worthless you are. They scare new students by telling them that people get dismissed every year because they can't do instrumentation correctly. There is absolutely ZERO calibration. One instructor will fail you for missing three pieces of calculus and another will pass you for missing the same amount of biofilm. They will fail you on your x-rays when you've had no real practice using the new ghetto equipment they just ordered that doesn't work correctly. They stress the importance of confidence but will fail you for splitting your fingers while holding an instrument or fake wiping a surface incorrectly during your infection control process. I could go on and on. Staff members would pull students aside and tell them that hygiene wasn't for them and they should consider another career path instead of trying to help them become better. One staff member pulled a students hair to move her out of the way. If you are going to rock valley for dental hygiene I'm sure you can get through it. Many students do. But If you value your mental health and actually want a good education then do not attend this program. So many of my classmates including myself had to go on anti anxiety and depression meds just to cope with the program. Oh and do not have a personal life or health crisis during the program because they don't care. You could have an illness that a specialist can't even get to the bottom of and they will be like you don't belong here. read more

I attended this college on and off for about 6 years. The teaching quality is very hit or miss here. I had a teacher who was fired for, in his own words, "not being a real teacher". My Intro to American Music teacher played the piano for most of class and went on about good old days, grading entirely off of just the midterm and the final. I remember a student correcting him several times before he apparently dropped the class. Another teacher would go on tangents with little educational or class-relevant value for over 30 minutes (I would watch the clock), so much so that I stopped going to that class as I thought it was a waste of time. On the other hand, there were teachers like Ms. Azam and Ms. Maas. Their teaching styles were pretty great. I took a lot of what I learned from them to another college, and it has helped me quite a bit so far in my new classes. Mr. Pink's class gave me some pretty handy writing tips. I've made good money from some writing jobs after sharpening my skills in that class. I do miss how cheap college was at RVC. I'm paying twice as much at my new college for classes, though the quality is much better. RVC was on a bus route that went through a lot of Rockford and Loves Park, so that was a plus. They have a Subway and Papa John's open until 3pm in the student center. The only place open that sells food on campus from then until about 7pm is Meg's by the library, and it's overpriced. There's no place to get food from within reasonable walking distance from the campus. Also, RVC could definitely use more associate and certificate programs. At least they have a fine nursing program. RVC is (kind of surprisingly) an accredited college. read more

Rock Valley College is so much more than people realize. Not only is everybody friendly and helpful, the faculty, staff, and even student workers all want to see you succeed in your endeavors, and tend to even go a bit out of their way just to help a student in need. And it's so affordable too, compared to other colleges. A top-notch community college, for sure. A great place to start your college career. :) read more

When you look around at today's college prices, you can't beat it. The campus is nice and there are some very good instructors there.